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Finally, football is back on a somewhat meaningful level as Newcastle United are a couple hours away from beginning their preseason in earnest with a match against German club Chemnitzer. There will be a live thread coming as soon as I get through the (abbreviated) links post and there is a German-language feed that will be available so if you can jump in and play along. It should be a good look at many young players including new boys Bigi and Romain Amalfitano.
In the interest of brevity, jump!
Gael Bigirimana in line for Newcastle debut tonight - NUFC News - Newcastle United - ChronicleLive
Bigirimana and Frenchman Romain Amalfitano could both be debutants against the German minnows and Alan Pardew will also look to field youngsters like Haris Vuckic, James Tavernier and Mehdi Abeid. Yet it will be the progress of the new faces that the small contingent of Geordie fans will be looking forward to seeing tonight. And Bigirimana told the Chronicle ahead of what could be the first of many appearances: "I’m proud to be hear and can’t wait to play my first game.
I had in my mind that I'd skip pointing out the grammatical error here, but I just can't leave it. Serioiusly? I'm happy to be hear?
Anyway, today is going to be an exciting look at players that should be playing a much larger role in the club this year than they did last year. Also, it will be a great opportunity to see how bad Rob Elliot really is as we know that Alan Pardew won't play Steve Harper for whatever reason. Did someone say Rob Elliot?
Pardew: Rob Elliot can make a push for Krul spot - NUFC News - Newcastle United - ChronicleLive
He told the Chronicle: "I don’t think there’s much to choose between Harps and Rob Elliot. They’re very different. "One trying to establish himself as a Newcastle player, with a future ahead of him. "Don’t underestimate him, by the way. I think the fans that went to the Forest game didn’t see the best of Rob. "He’s definitely a better goalie than that – he’s had to grow into the club."
"Rob Elliot can make a push for Krul spot"? Excuse me a moment. BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAhAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH. No.
"fans that went to the Forest game didn't see the best of Rob... he's had to grow into the club"... we're talking about an away match against a club that finished 19th in the Championship after which he was summarily dropped from all further cup ties. At least someone is out there admitting that he was shite at Forest, I guess.
Newcastle United close in on Douglas transfer - Newcastle United - Shields Gazette
NEWCASTLE United hope to push through a deal for Douglas next week. The defender has long been a target for the club, which opens its pre-season campaign with a game against German minnows Chemnitzer this evening (5.30pm BST). And there could be an end in sight to protracted – and complicated –negotiations with the Brazilian defender’s club FC Twente, according to sources in Holland.
Though the process has been long and drawn out, it has never really felt that this one was going to break down completely (if you're into gut feelings, particularly mine), although I'm slightly disturbed that Douglas' availability keeps getting pushed back... it started as he had to stay through July, then early August and now we're at late August... if it continues this way, maybe we'll see him by October?
Newcastle willing to swap Santon for Bojan - Goal.com
Newcastle United are keen on bringing in Roma forward Bojan Krkic this summer, and are prepared to sacrifice Davide Santon in order to push through a deal, Goal.com understands.
This seems reaalllllly far fetched, but it's interesting enough for me to wonder what you all think about it. Bojan Krkic was once considered a potential best player in the world type, but hasn't necessarily delivered (although to be fair Barca is perhaps the easiest place for a youngster to flourish) to the level most hoped. Assuming that all of the financials were able to be worked out (which seems unlikely... Barca are going to want their extra £22m from somewhere and Roma will want their £10m back, surely...) would you do a player exchange +cash deal sending Davide Santon to Roma and getting Bojan Krkic?